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LePelletier’s
Journal of Musick, 1810. Library of Congress.
Dolley Madison, wife of James Madison, was one of
early America’s most gracious hostesses. Through
Benjamin Latrobe, she purchased a piano for the
White House for $450 that was of "superior
tone in strength and sweetness." She also purchased
the earliest collection of music for the White House.
Printed in Philadelphia in 1810, Madame Le Pelletier’s
elegantly engraved Journal of Musick is an important
reflection of French influence in an American culture
still dominated by English practices. Along with
Italian and English songs and piano works, the collection
contains many pieces by French composers, such as
Isouard, Berton, Catel, Mehul and Boieldieu with
representative arias from their operas virtually
unknown in America at this time. Illustrating the
rare efforts of a woman composer in early America,
several of the selections are composed by Mme. Pelletier
herself, including an interesting set of variations,
"Fantaisie sur un Air Russe." Both the
piano and the original White House edition of the
music were destroyed when the British set fire to
the mansion on August 24, 1814.
Elise
Kirk, Musical Highlights from the White House,
17-18.
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